ch. 14 - making the plans

CHAPTER 14
MAKING THE PLANS


Narrator: Back at the Town Center as Maja and Sarah were walking again past by some stores…

Sarah: So ano gagawin natin ngayon? Walang iba kundi ng pasyal lang tayo ditto.

Maja: Eh meron bang iba?

Sarah: Alam ko may cine dito. Kaya lang sa kabila yun town center.

Maja: Nunuod ba tayong movie?

Sarah: Ahm… kung meron pinalabas ang maganda, okay lang sakin.

Maja: Ehh nunuod ba tayo ngayon?

Sarah: Kung gusto mo.

Maja: Gusto ko nunuodin yun… (circles her left index finger) yuuun… (to Sarah) Anong title yun bagong movie ni Daniel Craig?

Sarah: “Defiance?”

Maja: Ahh oo. Gusto ko yun. (nods her head in excitement)

Sarah: Di pa na palabas yan. Sa Friday pa.

Maja: Ah ganun?

Sarah: Bakit parang excited na excited ka sa movie nayan?

Maja: Kasi magaling pa si Daniel Craig, noh? And he is SOOO HOT!

Sarah: (weird facial expression) Naku, mas magaling pa si Pierce Brosnan sa James Bond kesa siya, noh?

Maja: Eh sa James Bond yun. Di bali. Basta, he is sooo HOT!

Sarah: Hoy, easy ka lang, ah? Mas hot pa si Brandon Routh kesa siya. (smiling proudly)

Maja: Diba si Superman yun Brandon Routh?

Sarah: (acting a little hyper) Oo naman! Actually, sa “Superman Returns” dyan si Brandon.

Maja: (laughing softly) Tss… ikaw talaga. Puro fantasy and nunuodin mo dyan, o? (lightly hits her on the arm)

Sarah: Eh fantasy naman talaga ako, at si Brandon Routh pang fantasy ko. (smiling proudly)

Narrator: Maja shook her head afterwards without saying a word.

*

Meanwhile with Erich and her two friends, as they approached the Edwards theater…

Brenda: So here we are. Check natin yun showings para sa anong nunuod natin.

Denise: Anong horas na?

Erich: (checks her watch) 7:22.

Narrator: So as soon as they approached the showings screen…

Denise: May 7:55 showing yung “Marley & Me.”

Brenda: Eh nunuod na yan ni Erich.

Denise: Ay, oo nga pala. (as Erich smiles)

Brenda: Meron yung “Unborn” sa 8:15.

Denise: Naku… hihintay pa tayong one hour para dyan?

Erich: Eh yun lang ang susunod yun showing. Tapos may 10:05 pa afterwards.

Brenda: Gusto niyo ba yun “Unborn?”

Denise: Umm… okay lang sakin.

Erich: Ako rin.

Brenda: (points to Erich) Tawagan mo si Jamilla at sabihin mo kung okay siya at si Jamilla yun movie nito.

Erich: Okie. (as she takes her phone out)

Narrator: Inside the AT&T store, while Nina was talking to one of the receptionists at the counter, Jamilla’s phone rang of Estelle’s “American Boy” ringtone.

Jamilla: (reads Erich’s name on caller ID, answers it) Yo Erich.

Erich: Jam, nandito kami sa harap ang cine. Gusto niyo manunuod yun “Unborn?”

Jamilla: “The Unborn?”

Erich: Oo.

Jamilla: Ahmm… okay lang. Hopefully na hindi masyadong scary yun movie nayan.

Erich: Basta you’re not alone. (laughs)

Jamilla: O sige. Teka, tatanong ko kay Nina.

Denise: (looks behind, notices Aaron and his girlfriend walking toward their direction heading to the theater, holding hands) Erich… (taps her shoulder)

Erich: (turns to Denise) O?

Denise: (points her to Aaron and his girlfriend) Dadaan sila dito.

Jamilla: (through Erich’s phone) Hello?

Erich: (shakes her head off distraction) O, Jam?

Jamilla: Sabi ni Nina okay lang yun papanuodin natin.

Erich: Okie… Jam, aalis muna ako. Tatawagin mo ako kung tapos na kayo dyan, ah?

Jamilla: O sige. We’ll see you there in a little bit. (hangs up)

Narrator: As Erich also hung up, seeing the couple approaching the theater…

Erich: Brenda, bilis tayo mag bayad ang tickets.

Brenda: Bakit?

Erich: Si Aaron ditto na pupunta. Bilis!

Brenda: (looks behind to see that Aaron and his girlfriend are now heading toward the Nike Factory shoe store) Actually, wala na sila dito.

Erich: Ha? (looks behind to find the couple have disappeared)

Denise: (looks behind also) Saan ba sila?

Brenda: Ng punta sila sa Nike.

Denise: Yun shoe store?

Brenda: Yep.

Erich: Mabuti nga. Basta ayoko mag kikita yun mukha yan.

Denise: (hand on Erich’s shoulder) Relax ka lang, Erich. We have your back, don’t you worry. (smiles)

Erich: (smiles back at Denise, who let go of her shoulder) Salamat, Denise.

Narrator: Suddenly, Erich’s phone beeped of a xylophone tone. She slid it upward as she received a text message.

Denise: Sino ng text sayo?

Erich: (smiles at Denise) Si Kay.

Denise: Anong sinabi niya?

Erich: Musta na ako raw, saka musta nang pasok mo.

Denise: Sabihin mo sa kanya na ng “Hi” rin ako. (smiles)

Erich: Sige.

Brenda: Si Kay bay an?

Erich: Oo.

Brenda: Saan siya ng pasok ngayon?

Erich: Sa UC Riverside.

Brenda: Anong curso niya?

Erich: Nursing.

Denise: Eh ikaw, Erich?

Erich: Mass communications yun primary option ko, pero tourism at film yun ibang option ko.

Denise: Ah ganun? Ayus yun second option mo, o?

Erich: Which one?

Denise: Tourism.

Brenda: Sa bagay, you’re a traveler, kaya tourism would work best for you.

Denise: (looks at her watch) Guys! Bili na tayong tickets.

Brenda: Anong horas na?

Denise: 7:28 na.

Erich: 7:28 lang naman eh.

Brenda: Tara. Baka mahaba pang pila mamiya.

Narrator: So the girls reached the movie ticket booth to purchase their movie tickets for “The Unborn.”

*

Back inside my house as me, Koji, and Uncle D-Nort continued watching the Lakers game…

Koji: All right all right… (watches Kobe drive to the basket double-teamed, but got bumped by defender Duncan as he missed the layup, falling to the floor)

D-Nort/ Jay: WALANG FOUL?!!!/ What the fuck?!

Narrator: But after Spurs reserve George Hill made an easy layup on the other end…

D-Nort: (slams empty Coors beer can on the floor) Dammit!!

Koji: (shakes his head) Goddam that white ref!

D-Nort: Jayno, grab me another beer.

Koji: Same here!

Jay: Wow… some rowdy drinkers you guys are. (laughing)

Koji: I’m a drinker for the hell of it, mayn, even when it comes to Laker games like this.

Jay: (nodding) Aite, aite, if ya’ll say so.

Narrator: So I got off the maroon turtle seat again, heading back to the garage to grab a couple more beer cans.

Koji: We’ll be there soon, I promise.

Narrator: The score read 87 – 76, led by the Spurs with 3 more minutes remaining in the third quarter.

*

Back out in the Town Center with Erich, Denise, and Brenda…

Denise: Got our tickets now. Where we headin’?

Erich: Ewan ko. Bahala na kayo dyan kung saan tayo papasyal.

Brenda: (as she looks straight at Powerhouse Arcade, then back to her friends) Kung gusto niyo, sa arcade muna tayo pupunta.

Denise: Arcade?

Erich: Ano gagawin natin dun?

Brenda: May ibigan ako kasi ng trabajo dun, and I wanna see if he’s working or not.

Denise: Ah lalaki ba? Anong pangalan niya?

Brenda: Jimbo.

Erich: Meron din akong friend whose name is Jimbo. (smiles)

Brenda: Talaga? Na ligawan ba siya sayo? (acting naughty)

Erich: Di noh? Kaw naman. May girlfriend siya noon pa ng kilala kami.

Denise: Ah ganun?

Erich: Oo, saka may boyfriend ako nung nangyari yan.

Brenda: Naku, buti pa ng girlfriend yun Jimbo mo. Yun Jimbo ko, puro video games and isipin niya. Walang iba kundi yan.

Denise: Masama na maging obsessed siya sa video games.

Brenda: Exactly. Ang buhay niya, o?

Erich: Basta I would never date guys who play video games all the time.

Denise: Me too.

Brenda: Me three. Tara na. Baka lumabas siya mamiya sa work niya.

Narrator: So the three girls headed toward the Powerhouse Arcade building to meet Brenda’s friend.